Ace's Wonderland
by Mists
Summary: This is a one shot companion piece to Respect is Earned. The story centers around Ace's life, death, and how Bruce and Wally deal with her passing. Though the piece is bittersweet, it has a hopeful end. I hope you all enjoy it.


**Disclaimer:** The song being quoted in this story is called, "You Are The Moon" by: The Hush Sound. As always, I own nothing.

This story is a companion piece to "Respect is Earned" If you haven't read it, the first part will be lost on you because it is a deleted scene from the previous story.

This will be a very bitter sweet piece. Spoiler warning for the JLU episode, "Epilogue." I quote/paraphrase quite a few lines from the episode to set up Ace's final scene. So those words aren't mine, they are from JLU. So I in no way own any of this, it is merely a tribute to a wonderful character. Enjoy.

* * *

**---Ace's Wonderland---**

**By: Mists**

* * *

-**Inside the Batcave-**

**-Wally's POV-**

"Sir…shouldn't you be on your way?"

"Not without backup," said Wally with a smirk as he called up the video phone-link window.

"But sir, I thought you said-"

What Alfred was about to say, was cut off by the person who suddenly appeared on screen.

"_Who are you…and why have you called me?"_ asked the person on the screen.

Wally sighed and looked up sincerely into the person's eyes, "I need your help."

Ace looked back at the masked figure as if he was completely mad.

"Do you know who I am? Because if you don't… know that you have taken great risk in contacting me," said Ace gently as her eyes took on that familiar hypnotic spin.

Wally didn't look away as he replied, "Batman is in great danger. And if you don't help me, …he will die."

Ace's eyes stopped spinning, but she didn't avert her gaze.

"Is that a threat?"

"No. I'm with the Justice League. I'm making this request on the behalf of my friend."

Ace's usually emotionless face appeared troubled for a moment, as she looked Wally over with an appraising eye.

"How do I know, you are not lying to me?"

The eyeholes of the Wally's domino mask shut tight. He knew this question was coming. And though the thought of the answer terrified him to the depths of his soul, he would do it for Bruce.

"You don't. I know a lot of people have hurt you, Ace. You have every reason to be wary of me….I will do whatever it takes to show you that my intentions are true, even allow you into my mind if that's what it takes."

His hand was shaking as he said it. Ever since their first encounter with Grodd, the thought of someone messing with his mind again sent chills down his spine. He flexed his hand a good three times and the shaking stopped.

When he looked back at the screen, Ace was still staring at him with those wide sorrowful eyes.

"I do not need your permission to look inside your mind, but I will do so none the less." said Ace as her stare intensified.

"Master Wally, I'm not sure this is-" exclaimed Alfred as he watched the exchange with great alarm.

"I know what I'm doing, Alfred. Just keep your eyes shut. I'll be fine," said the masked hero as he gave his friend a thumbs-up.

Then he took a deep breath and said, "Okay, I'm ready."

Her mind hit his with the force of a hundred gees. It felt like his spirit had been blown back away from his body.

Suddenly, thousands upon thousands of images flew by him at once. They were his memories. Some were happy, others were sad. In fact, many were quite heartbreaking for him. These memories were so intense and filled with sorrow that they physically hurt him as they zoomed by.

Some sliced him like a knife, while others burned him like acid. He didn't know how much more of this he could take. He had suppressed those memories for so long. Only J'onn had ever scratched the surface of them. Wally had sweat bullets as he brushed it off telling J'onn it was nothing and that he should just let it be.

But for some reason, Ace was focusing on these particular events with great intensity. As he speculated why, a blast of raw pain and anguish hit him with the force of a punch. Suddenly, he was feeling and seeing images that were not his own.

A baby crawled over to her parents…arms raised…pleading for a hug. But all they did was sit there,… mindlessly drooling onto the couch.

Next he saw a young girl fight and scream in horror as a metal band was placed upon her head. It took away her freedom to think, her very will to choose. She was utterly trapped and isolated within her own mind. Everything the doctors would ask of her, she would comply with.

"_Ace, can you move this with your mind?"_

"_Again! Do it again until you can't anymore!"_

Several times their 'games' ended with her nose bleeding as she passed out upon the floor.

"**Shadows all around you as you surface from the dark…."  
**

Wally gathered up all the mental energy he possessed and projected his thoughts of the kids and how they were being controlled and genetically altered by their captors.

The scene in Wally's mind then shifted to when Ace was released from her bonds by the Joker. He was the first being to ever show her a thread of kindness. Though she trained with the rest of the "Royal Flush Gang," they never approached her or tried to be her friends. In fact, they were just like everyone else. They feared her, ignored her, and banished her very presence from their minds. After all her suffering she was still alone….except for Joker.

"**Emerging from the gentle grip of night's unfolding arms…"**

He actually listened when she spoke. He sympathized with her woes. He was all she had. So she agreed to help him, no matter what the task entailed, even driving everyone in the world mad. _**  
**_

"**Darkness, darkness everywhere, do you feel all alone?"**

Justice was what he called it, justice for all the pain and suffering that had been inflicted on them because they were different. They would give the world a reason to fear. As Ace stared into the video camera for all the world to see, she finally thought, _"At last, I'm in control of who and what I am."_

That was when Batman pulled her metallic prison out from beneath the Joker's jacket. She immediately cut off her stare and froze. Anger engulfed her entire being, she had been betrayed. She would give the madman something to fear, a madness even he couldn't break. **  
**

"**The subtle grace of gravity, the heavy weight of stone…"**

As she left the studio, she swore to herself she would never trust another human being again….

That was until Batman asked, "….Where….are you….going…to go?"

She turned around in surprise. She had just tried to rip his very mind to shreds. Did he actually _care _what was going to happen to her? After all she had just done?

She paused for a second and then softly answered, "Nowhere."

And with that, she walked out the door.

It was the truth after all, for she was nothing now. And a nothing, existed nowhere.

Wally felt tears stream down his face as he projected to Ace that Batman was the one who found out where she was. He was keeping an eye on her because he cared about her, not because he feared her. And now Joker was back, and about to kill Batman if they didn't hurry.

Suddenly, Wally felt a gust of wind fill his lungs as the connection abruptly cut off. He panted heavily as tears ran down his face.

"I knew this wasn't a bloody good idea," said Alfred as he rushed to Wally's side patting his back.

"No.." coughed Wally, "It was…."

He then looked up at Ace's face on the monitor. She bit her bottom lip as a single tear fell from her right eye.

"Very well, Wally," she whispered. "I will meet you at the position you intended. I will see you soon."

And with that, the video feed cut off before Wally could even speak her name.

* * *

-**Three Years Later- **

**-Batman's POV-**

"_The only way to stop Ace for sure…is to kill her."_

Those words echoed through Batman's mind, as he ran down the path of thorns to the castle's gate. The drawbridge opened for him with a mighty clang, just as the forest had parted before. He walked through the arched doorway into a beautiful, serene garden. Fanciful architecture lined its interior. Towers and staircases seemed suspended in mid-air as they hovered motionless with no support structure in sight. The birds sang a soft tune as Batman walked towards the swing set that was oddly placed in the middle of this medieval paradise.

"**You don't see what you possess, a beauty calm and clear…."**

There she sat, swinging up and down as her short, dark hair flew freely through the air.

"Batman," she said as if she was stating a fact.

"Ace," was his equally dry reply.

"Did you like playing with my new 'Royal Flush Gang?'"

Batman paused a moment before answering, "Can't say that I did."

"Yeah…they aren't any fun at all. I gave them their powers and they still hardly ever play with me," she said with a hint of resentment in her voice.

"Can't imagine why."

"When I was little, Cadmus used to make me play all kinds of games. 'Ace, can you move this object with your mind?'"

The tree in front of her was torn asunder and floated up into the stratosphere.

"Yeah, I can move it….they weren't really games you know… They said they were training me….to be a weapon… of _justice_ they said. They got their weapon…and I got cheated out of my childhood," said Ace as she lightly kicked the ground.

"**It floods the sky and blurs the darkness like a chandelier…"**

"I know what that's like," said Batman with a frown; it sounded all too familiar to him.

"You do….don't you?" she asked with a bit of surprise, "You don't have to answer…I read your mind. That's how I knew you weren't going to use Mrs. Waller's weapon on me."

No. He would never use a weapon like that on someone like Ace. Her pain was as tangible as his own. She wasn't evil. Ace was just a person who fate had dealt the harshest card of all.

"No. I wasn't," said Batman as he tossed the device away.

"You were going to try and talk me into reversing what I've done…..before I die," Ace said with sadness.

"Yes."

Bruce didn't know how much more of this he could take. He could do nothing to help her; there was no saving her from this.

"I'm dying very soon…"

"Yes. …I'm sorry," said Bruce as he frowned at how inappropriate those words were.

But then again what could you say to someone who had half their life stolen, just to have the rest ripped away so suddenly?

Ace looked him right in the eye as tears fell down her cheeks.

"Will you stay with me? ….I'm scared."

Bruce didn't even hesitate. He walked forward and sat on the swing next to her. She gave him a sad smile as he extended his hand to her. She gently grasped it…and then they waited….

"What do you think death is like?" she whispered softly as she watched the birds happily flutter by.

Bruce closed his eyes._ "What on earth do I say to that?"_ thought the Dark Knight as he sat there with the dying girl. He was never one to sugar coat things, so he decided to be as honest as he could, "I don't know. None of us can really."

"Do…do you think we go on…or just cease to be?"

"Several people have different answers to that question……But from all I've seen in this world…from the good to the bad, to the mystical to the logical….Somehow I think part of us does. There are just some things that I can't fathom even death destroying."

"Yes…I suppose so," said Ace still unsure.

Then she hesitantly asked, "Do you think your parents will be there when you arrive?"

Bruce felt the breath catch in his throat. He bit his lip to help prevent his unshed tears from falling.

"I hope for that …with all my heart," whispered Bruce, softly.

"So do I," said Ace as she began to cry.

"**All the light that you possess is skewed by lakes and seas…"**

Bruce got up off the swing and knelt before her. She leapt into his chest and engulfed him in a tight hug. Her face pressed into the shoulder of his cape as she wept.

"I am so afraid they will hate me for what I did to them."

Bruce held her tighter as he replied, "That was not your fault, Ace. You had no control over your powers at that time. They would never blame you for that."

Her small frame shivered in his arms as if she was in pain.

"I have started the removal process…everything I changed will return to normal….But may I ask one more favor of you, Bruce?" she painfully whispered.

"Anything, Ace."

"Please tell…Wally, I am sorry….I could not take him up on his offer. It wasn't his fault….he'll blame himself. I know he will….but I was just too scared to take the chance again…..and be left with nothing…Now my time is up and I never got the chance to feel what it was truly like….to have a friend."

"I will, Ace. I promise," said Bruce, his voice was breaking.

"He is trying to get here. He knows I am dying…I do not know how...but he does. I am

sorry, Wally," she cried. "But I cannot hang on any longer."

Then her eyes suddenly went wide as she whispered, "Momma? Daddy…."

And with one last shudder, her body went completely limp in his arms.

Bruce shakily moved a hand over her eyes and gently closed them.

Then he completely broke down and wept.

"**The shattered surface, so imperfect, is all that you believe…"  
**

**

* * *

**

It took several minutes for him to compose himself. Then slowly but surely, he lifted her small form into his arms and carried her out of the garden. The remains of her work disappeared around him as he solemnly walked back down the brick path.

As he reached the others, he saw them avert their eyes from the child's now lifeless form.

"I-I'll take her now," said Amanda as she reached out to take her.

Batman glared at her with insurmountable rage and shifted Ace's body away from her.

"You and your _**PEOPLE**_ will _**NEVER**_touch _**THIS **_child,_** AGAIN!**_ Is that _**CLEAR**__?_" spat Batman as if every word left a vile taste in his mouth.

Amanda Waller took a startled step back as Batman pushed past her to the landing form of the Bat-plane.

"Shayera, contact Flash. He's on a mission with John on Solaria. Tell him it's over and to meet me when he can," said Batman into his earpiece.

"Wait, what? Why Flash? What's-"

"Batman- _out,_" said Bruce as he stormed toward the jet, ready to get as far away from that Waller woman as soon as possible.

* * *

-**Three Days Later-**

**-Wally's POV-**

Wally slowly walked up the concrete path to the front door of Wayne Manor. Nestled in his arms was a baby sapling that he picked up at a nursery on the way there.

He still couldn't believe Ace was gone.

A small connection had been made when their minds were linked that one time. Even from twelve solar systems away, he could feel her fading. He practically begged John to fly him back using his ring. But deep down, he knew even then that he wouldn't be able to make it in time.

"_Thank goodness Bruce was on that mission,"_ thought Wally as he gently knocked on the door. He didn't even want to contemplate what would have happened, had he not been there.

The door opened to reveal Alfred's usual stoic face.

"Hey, Al," said Wally with a false smile. "Where's doom and gloom at?"

Alfred motioned for him to enter and closed the door behind him.

"Master Bruce is out back, sir. …He's been out there all day," said Alfred as he led Wally to the back door of the massive home.

Over the years, Wally had come to know the mansion quite well. But the one place he never dared go was the large garden in the back of the mansion. For at the very back,… placed under a large oak tree were the graves of Bruce's parents.

Wally always felt this place was off limits to anyone other than Bruce and Alfred.

As he walked through the garden, the lovely atmosphere seemed dull that day, like a pastel painting.

Alfred then suddenly came to an abrupt halt. Wally almost plowed into him as he regained his balance.

"He is up on that hill, Master Wally," said Alfred as he gestured to the green mound before them. "Please see if you can at least get him to come down and eat something."

And with that, Alfred turned around and walked back into the house. Wally watched the butler's retreating back sadly.

"_He must really be taking this hard if he won't even let Alfred in,"_ thought Wally as the cool breezeruffled his hair.

He then turned toward the little hill and began his trek. Mud and grass quickly became caked onto his shoes. The cold wind pushed at him as he tread onward, as if it to wished to deter his approach.

As he crested the top of the hill, he saw Bruce standing solemnly beside a newly erected headstone. The piece was carved out of the finest black granite in the shape of her symbol, the Ace of Clubs. The polished surface reflected ghostly images of the objects that surrounded it.

"**I will bring a mirror, so silver, so exact…"**

Buried in the ground before the cross like club was another piece of granite. It was black and highly polished like the headstone, except that it was carved into the shape of a rectangle. Ace's name was engraved on its face in large capital letters, as its mirrored surface faced the sky above.

Wally took a deep breath and sighed as he walked up behind Bruce's rooted form. He watched the headstone as his reflection appeared in its dark, liquid like surface. Bruce didn't turn around, but instead opted to look at Wally through the reflection in the stone.

"Wally," said Bruce, his eyes never leaving the mirrored surface.

"Bruce."

"…..I'm glad you came."

Wally sighed at that and bent his head.

"…I'm sorry I wasn't there, Bruce. I tried everything I could think of but-"

Bruce held up his hand to stop him.

"I know Wally…she knew, too….and that's all that matters really….it was enough for her….to know you cared."

Wally felt a tear begin to roll down his face and he quickly wiped it away.

"She and I had a bit of a link, due to the original mind connect we made. I'm still not sure why though….but it really doesn't matter now…."

For several minutes they just stood there in silence, staring at polished headstone…nether having enough strength to face the other directly.

"Bruce?" asked Wally breaking the silence.

"Yes…"

"Was she…was she in a lot of pain when she left?"

"No. Not really….she was more frightened than anything else."

Then Bruce whispered so softly that Wally wasn't even sure he really heard it at first, "….I really wish you had been there. You would have done a better job at comforting her than me….."

"**So precise and so pristine, a perfect pane of glass…"**

Wally was so stunned that he actually turned to look at Bruce.

"What are you talking about? You did all that you could, Bats!"

Bruce sighed and continued to stare at his refection.

"But you're better at that kind of stuff than I am…."

Wally rolled his eyes as he exclaimed, "Please, I would have been a sobbing mess and you know it."

"I….I just- I couldn't help her….there was no way to save her….and I didn't know how to give her the comfort that she needed…."

"What more do you think she needed?" asked Wally intrigued.

Bruce's form went ridged for a moment before he quickly turned and asked, "Do you think part of us goes on when we die?"

Wally blinked a few times just at the abruptness of the question. "I….she asked you that didn't she?"

Bruce then turned his head away and nodded.

"Wow…"

"Yeah…I just…didn't know what to say. So?"

"So, what?" asked Wally clearly perplexed.

Bruce groaned and rubbed his eyes, "What do _you_ think the answer is?"

Wally looked down at the little sapling in his arms while he thought.

"Well….oddly enough….I like to think of it scientifically."

"Come again?" asked Bruce as he looked at Wally, skeptically.

"Yeah, I know….the unknown ….the life beyond, more spiritual right?"

Bruce nodded in agreement.

"I think about it like this, 'Matter can neither be created nor destroyed,' right? It just changes state. So what if that's what happens to our souls as well….We just go to a higher existence, or just exist on an undetectable wavelength is all….."

Bruce pondered this thought for a moment.

"I guess that makes sense…But we can never know for absolutely certain, can we?"

"Nope, but I find comfort in it, even if it's just a little," said Wally as he walked a couple paces behind the back of the headstone.

"Wally….what are you doing?" questioned Bruce as he watched Wally kneel to the ground several yards away from where he stood.

"What's it look like I'm doing?" Wally responded as he rolled up his sleeves and began to dig a hole in the earth. "I'm planting a tree."

"**I will set the mirror up to face the blackened sky…."**

Bruce shook his head and walked over to his friend.

"Why, though?"

"Because…it's important to remember that when one life ends, another springs a new," said Wally as he dug the little hole with his hands.

"Is that another of your Granny Flash's sayings?" asked Bruce as he sat down next to Wally and began to dig, too.

"Yup!"

"Why am I not surprised…" said Bruce as he helped Wally pack the newly dug soil around the base of the little tree.

"There! All done!" exclaimed the speedster as he clapped his hands in the air to get rid of the dirt.

"Wally…what kind of tree is this?"

"This, my friend, is a 'Sakura' tree or as it's more commonly known; a Cherry tree. I've just always liked the Japanese name better. It is a symbol of great strength and perseverance, in that it only blooms once a year. The blossoms' spectacular beauty is all the more revered because of how rare and fleeting it is to see."

"And…." said Bruce with a knowing smile on his face.

"And well…it was Ace's favorite flower," said Wally shyly as he helped Bruce off the ground.

Bruce dusted off his jeans as he replied, "Thought so…it sounds a lot like her, too.."

"Yeah…I guess it does…So, I'm getting hungry here, Bats. What do you say we go in and have some of that dinner I know Alfred's making us?" asked Wally as he patted Bruce on the back while gently steering him towards the house.

Bruce sent him a glare. "Alfred put you up to this, didn't he?"

"What?!" exclaimed Wally insulted. "Would _I_ ever do something as sneaky and deceitful as that?"

Bruce was about to say "_Yes_" when a loud tumbling noise came from behind them. Both heroes quickly whirled around to discover an absolutely wondrous sight.

Where they had just finished planting the little sapling, now stood a mighty tree. But this wasn't any ordinary tree, the trunk was bright red and the leaves were dark blue. Swirls of pink were peppered throughout leaves in great contrast to the dark blue.

It was Ace's tree. The one Bruce had seen outside her castle the night she died.

A brisk wind then blew up, and held the note of joyful laughter. As the image of the fantastic tree was blown away, Bruce and Wally felt the wind gently caress their faces like a sweet kiss. After the wind had finally died down, Ace's tree had been replaced by the form of a full grown Sakura tree….in full bloom.

"**You will see your beauty every moment that you rise...."**

"I…_how?_" asked Bruce in shock as he looked at the tree in awe.

"She came back to say good-bye….and leave us something to remember her by…" whispered Wally as he gently touched his cheek where he felt the wind touch him.

"How do you know that Wally?" asked Bruce amazed.

"I-I don't know….I just _do._"

Then his face suddenly lit in a bright smile, "She's happy Bats. I know she is. And she left us an ever-blooming Sakura tree. It's very fitting, huh?"

Bruce thought about this for a moment and returned the smile. "I suppose it is….Come on, let's go in before Alfred berates us for letting his dinner get cold."

"Sure thing," said Wally as he followed behind Bruce, heading toward the mansion.

But then he stopped and turned around to face the tree once more. "Good-bye, Ace. Be happy," he whispered and then turned back around to go inside.

And somehow…he knew the laughing wind held her reply.

* * *

**-THE END-**

* * *

**Author's Notes:** Well there you have it people. This was a very deep story to write, so I hope you all enjoyed it. It was just something I needed to do. My grandfather died this summer and it got me thinking about a lot of things. Don't worry, "From Respect to Friendship" is going to be a very light hearted piece with just a touch of depth. I'll have the first chapter out soon.

Oh and for you Batman Beyond fans, I pose this question to you….What was the name of Bruce's dog in the series?

Hehehe…that's right. Ace.

Somehow, I feel like that was his testament to her.

Anyway, I'll write you all again soon. Later!


End file.
